Jose Fajardo leaving WMFE

11:44 a.m. EST, October 26, 2012|By Hal Boedeker, Staff writer

Jose Fajardo, the president and CEO of WMFE, is leaving, the public broadcaster announced Friday.

Fajardo has been with WMFE since 1996 and became CEO in 2007. He oversaw WMFE's getting out of public television last year, a controversial move that ended with the sale last month of Channel 24 to the University of Central Florida for $3.3 million.

WMFE decided to concentrate on its radio station, 90.7 FM. WMFE Board Chair Bob Showalter said that Fajardo was leaving the radio station in the best financial condition in recent memory. Showalter cited an October fund drive that raised $200,000; the goal had been $180,000.

"He did a tremendous job of driving the ship through the reefs we went through to get the television deal to close," Showalter said. "He did a great job to get the deal closed. The first payment is in the bank for the sale of Channel 24. Our listenership has never been greater."

Fajardo said the sale of Channel 24 could be seen as a low point or a high point of his tenure at WMFE. "The decision was the right decision to make," he said. "The community will wind up with stronger public TV station and a stronger public radio station."

But he shared regrets about the way the Channel 24 sale was managed.

"Could it have been handled better? Yes," he said. "We should have been more attentive to being engaged with the community." He said the announcement took many by surprise. It was made on April Fools' Day, and some viewers thought it was a joke.

Fajardo also oversaw a huge reduction in staffing at WMFE. When he took over, the station had 78 employees for the TV and radio operation. He put the current staffing for radio alone at 23.

His cited his compensation as a reason for his departure: He made $172,000, according to a WMFE filing with the IRS for the 12-month period ending September 2011. He was paid for running TV and radio in a Top 20 TV market, Fajardo said.

"Now as radio only, we're market 34," he said. "The salary range is significantly lower than what I’m making. When I started the conversation with the board two years ago, I was upfront, 'When we're radio only we’ll have to have a conversation, Do you need a complex CEO position?' "

After that conversation, Fajardo said that he opted to part ways with WMFE.

He estimated that a radio-only position would mean a reduction of 30 percent to 40 percent in his salary.

Fajardo will take most of November off to consider his options. "I would love to continue in Orlando," he said.

The Board of Trustees said it will conduct a national search to hire a new general manager for the radio station. Fajardo's last day of employment is Dec. 1, but he is gone, Showalter said, and the vice president of finance will run the operation on an interim basis.